Sports Digest – 04/02/2014

On January 24th and 25th, UCD competed in the Water Polo Intervarsities hosted by Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) in Falls Leisure Centre, Belfast. Despite putting on up a good fight, UCD men’s team lost narrowly to NUI Maynooth in a tightly-contested quarter-final. They eventually placed fifth in the meet.

Brothers Fergus and Colum Crowe forged an enviable partnership, while newcomer Vinog Leavy made waves by creating some fantastic opportunities in the water for team mates Cormac Reddin and Dean Smal.

The ladies team fared similarly, succumbing to defeat at the hands of perennial rivals Trinity College Dublin in the semi-finals. The team featured a good mix of novices and senior players, with the return of experienced players Katie Ryan and Ciara Murray from Erasmus programmes a much welcomed asset.

Catalina Parga gave an outstanding performance in the semi-final, while Eimeir Walsh showed her prowess in the water against this year’s champions DIT.

Next up for the water polo squad, especially for the more experienced players, would be hopes for selections for the Celtic Nations team for the competition scheduled to take place in Galway this year. For those interested in joining or trying out water polo for themselves, training takes place on Mondays from 9:00pm – 10:30pm in UCD swimming pool.

Equestrian

It was a day to remember for the UCD Equestrian team recently when they took on rivals Trinity College Dublin in Colours in what turned out to be a heavily one-sided affair. Katie Nolan overcame stiff competition to emerge first in dressage and then combined effectively with Ian Cassels and Jamie Nolan to beat Trinity into second best in team dressage.

Show jumping saw UCD’s James Keane outperforming the field. He was joined on the podium by second-placed teammate, Max O’Reilly Hyland. In the team event, UCD’s team of O’Reilly Hyland, Ian Hickey, and Darragh Magner gave a solid performance to see off the opposing Trinity College side.

Tennis

UCD Tennis Club celebrated its 100 year milestone by organising the Centenary Year Celebration Dinner. The dinner took place at Fitzwilliam LTC on Friday, January 24th and was attended by past and present members from all corners of Ireland and beyond.

On the night itself, an exhibition match was held between UCD and Fitzwilliam. As keepsakes, cherished memorabilia such as autographed menus from the 1958 Intervarsity Dinner and a replica of the O’Brien Men’s Club Championship trophy were presented to UCD Tennis Club.

The Ladies Perpetual Championship Cup was presented to the club by Geraldine Barniville on the night of the dinner for permanent display in the Sports Centre. The UCD Men’s Championship Singles Challenge Cup, presented in 1922 by Patrick J. O’Brien and won outright by Joe MacHale in 1942, was presented to the club by Mrs Carmel MacHale.